Tripura Election results 2018: BJP-IPFT alliance wins majority in state Assembly, ends Left rule

The BJP-IPFT combine scripted history by securing a majority in the Tripura state Assembly, marking the end of 25-year long reign of Communist Party of India (Marxist)in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 35 seats on its own, while its ally, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), was victorious in 8 constituencies. This has taken the alliance across the required number of seats to get majority in the House.

The outgoing CPI (M) bagged 15 seats and was leading on one by the time this report was written. The Left front party had won 50 out of the 60 Assembly constituencies in the state in 2013.

Among the winning candidates in the BJP were Biplab Deb, its state unit president. His name coming up as the most likely candidate for the next Tripura CM, according to sources. Final call on the name of the new Chief Minister will now be taken in a parliamentary board meeting.

The BJP's strong showing came as a surprise for many as the party did not even have a councillor in Tripura. It has secured 43 per cent vote share, which was less than two per cent votes in the 2013 Assembly election in the state. Its ally IPFT, which fielded candidates in nine seats, got nearly 8 per cent votes. The CPI (M), on the other hand, saw a little over 42 per cent voting in its favour.

The Congress has not won a single seat in the state. Its vote share is likely to dip to slightly over two per cent, the EC source said. The elections in 59 seats in the 60-member Assembly were held on February 18. Polling was countermanded in one seat due to the death of a CPI(M) candidate.

Commenting on the victory, BJP leader Ram Madhav said that the people in the state have voted for a change. "They have supported our slogan for change," he said, adding that the CPI(M) gave a "spirited fight".

BJP in-charge in Tripura and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "People were fed up with the Manik Sarkar government which has been ruling the state for more than two decades and wanted to get rid of the CPI(M) rule."

He also said the BJP's alliance with the tribal-dominated IPFT has also helped the saffron party. "Tribal votes in Tripura are around 35 per cent and they voted for the BJP lock, stock and barrel," he said.

Sarma also dismissed the suggestion that the minorities, particularly the Christians in the northeast, were against the BJP, saying the community "wholeheartedly" supported the party.

On the poll outcome, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, "Tripura voters have given their mandate for a BJP-IPFT government in the state. We thank the people of Tripura for giving us the opportunity to serve them for the past 25 years."

He said that CPI(M) would continue to oppose the BJP and its "divisive agenda" not only in Tripura but throughout the country. He alleged that the BJP has used both "money and muscle power in Tripura".

(With PTI inputs)